Editorial: Should I Buy a Vita? – The Top 5 Games That Would Make Me Say “Yes!”

All my life I have been obsessed with having all the things. I wanted every Nintendo handheld, every console, every accessory, and all the games – even if I didn’t really want to play them. However, now that I am a responsible adult, I can’t be so frivolous with my money (I miss getting allowance from Mom) and I have to wait to pick up new hardware. I’ve had my eye on a Vita for a while now, but the game library just isn’t big enough yet for me to justify the price tag. I need there to be at least a couple more game releases before I will be enticed enough to finally drop the cash on a Vita. After thinking about it for a little while, I came up with the top 5 games that would convince me to pick up a Vita.

1. Final Fantasy X HD

This has been talked about and talked about, but still doesn’t have a release date. Who knows when we will eventually see this, but an HD remake of one of my favorite Final Fantasy titles would make a Vita necessary in my house. Now before you say “Well Sarah, you can play FF 7-9 on Vita through PSN” – I know this. But they are NOT remade in HD! I would love to have an HD version to take with me on the go. This would make the Vita a definite pickup for me.

2. Puzzle Games

As far as I am aware, the closest the Vita has to a puzzle game is Smart As, and I feel like that just might make me feel stupid. I love a full-blown puzzle game (Professor Layton is one of my favorite dudes), and having a dedicated game like that on the Vita would be amazing. Puzzle games are perfect for short term play, travel, or breaks at work, and would be enough to get me to pick up a new handheld.

3. Patapon

The Patapon games were crazy popular on PSP, and are now available to download off of PSN for your Vita. I want a new one; something to incorporate the technological advances of the Vita as well as bring back the old school awesome that Patapon is. God they are so cute, I just want to squish them! Plus, who doesn’t love to play god?

4. Spyro HD

Spyro was one of my favorite PlayStation games growing up – it was colorful and fun, and not too challenging for me to get frustrated. Spyro was like a cool kid you wanted to be friends with; a badass in the dragon world. He should have worn sunglasses all the time, and had sweet 90’s music as a soundtrack to his life. If an HD version of Spyro ever came out, it would be prefect for the Vita. At least a cross play/buy scenario like Sly Cooper. Amazing. I would buy that in an instant.

5. Ni No Kuni/ Pokemon/ Dark Cloud –esque something

Ni No Kuni is my latest obsession, mostly for its Pokemon and Dark Cloud vibe, and ABSOLUTELY STUNNING art. Collect, give people the right something to make them happy, save the world. I honestly wish Ni No Kuni was on a handheld, but if that can’t be the real world then I need something similar for it. I need little animal pets, and to alchemize and level things, and I would love to be able to do it on the go so any chance I have a moment I can get into it. That would be absolutely incredible, and is the one genre I think the Vita is lacking in.

I’d like to point out that one or two of these games combined with what is already out there both in hard copy, on PSN and free through PS Plus will push me over the edge into Vita town. I’m teetering now, and things like Persona 4, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, cross play/cross buy, and the number of PS classics I can now download to the handheld are pushing in a spending direction. Who knows, maybe a price cut will get me there as well. Or a bundle with stickers – I’m a sucker for that stuff. I also am willing to sacrifice game genres I typically pick up on the Nintendo side of things (like Layton) in order to get trophies because, well – I’m addicted.

Discuss:

What games would you recommend for me? And if you don’t have a Vita yet, what game would push you over the edge to get one? Let me know in the comments!

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For me, it just comes down to great JRPG. The Vita seems sooo perfect for it. Giving you a powerful device that shouldn’t limit developers and give them lots of different control and style configuration (touchback, analogue, etc.)

I have had a Vita since shortly after launch and I have no regrets. (I shouldn’t, it was free. XD)

Some games that are good IMO would be LittleBigPlanet, ModNation Racers: Road Trip (I named this game, that is how I got my Vita), Assassin’s Creed III Liberation or the new Killzone: Mercenary.

As you mentioned, cross-play/buy is also nice. With games like Sly Cooper, MLB, Sound Shapes, Ratchet & Clank and undoubtably more to come, this is a great incentive.

Then, if you needed a little more help. you could think of all of the new ways the Vita will be combined with the PS4. Remote play is looking to be amazing. I can’t wait to stream PS4 games away from home.

LBP was made for the Vita. The two gel together so well. I like ModNation on it as well, especially building is way easier on the Vita though load times are kind of annoying. Again, just dying for a good JRPG on it. I’m playing through Gravity Shift but not a big fan of the whole gravity shifting as I’m just not too good at it.

The PS4 connectivity will be huge for my personal use. Can’t get on the PS4 and TV? No problem!

Andrew McDowell

I can easily recommend several games.
For a Spyro game I got nothing, but there is a new Crash Bandicoot game conin soon, as a countdown site was recently discovered with the words “He’s BACK”. Final Fantasy X HD was recently shown running on a Vita by the game’s devs during a PS Vita Heaven show, it’s looking like it’s goin to be an early 2014 release. For emotionally impacting RPGS there’s Soul Sacrifice, for alchemy there’s Atelier Totori and Meruru Plus and Totori is being localized later this year. For puzzle games, have you missed Escape Plan, Sound Shapes, Lumines Electronic Symphony, Knytt Underground, Mutant Blobs Space Attack, Guacamelee and Munchs Odyssey HD?

Andrew McDowell

I also recently completed Persona 4 Golden, that game took 80 hours of my precious time, AND I LOVED EVERY MILLISECOND OF IT!!! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Absolutely not. If you like Pokemon, think of Persona 4 as an adult’s Pokemon. It has fantastic story, awesome but simple gameplay, a cool Persona fusion system, top notch voice acting, and the kind of gameplay that you can’t put down. I haven’t played the other Persona games, but I REAAALY loved it.

thanks for the suggestions, especially the puzzle ones – I’m going to look into them!

Andrew McDowell

A few updates to my message before, Final Fantasy X and X-2 will both be out later this year in HD on PsVita and PS3, and Atelier Totoru Plus is already localized and available for download on PSN, unfortunately there’s no retail release for Atelier Totori Plus

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